Crispin Blunt

Defence Questions

Mr. Crispin Blunt (Reigate) (Con): I am sure that the Secretary of State would not want to leave the House with the impression that the Royal Highland Fusiliers in Cyprus were poised to go to Iraq—although that was the implication of his earlier statement. The high readiness reserve must be replaced with another battalion when it is deployed. Who will that reserve be, and can the Secretary of State explain the contradiction between his speech on the Loyal Address on 24 November 2004, when he said, as is recorded in column 108 of Hansard, that there were 220,000 trained Iraqi security personnel, and the figure of 115,000 personnel that he gave the House today? Would it not be better to make a proper statement? The Minister of State came to the House to make a statement on the deployment of seven liaison officers to the Congo, but the Secretary of State is proposing to deploy 50 times as many people without making a statement.

Mr. Hoon: The extremely high readiness reserve was specifically placed in Cyprus for the purpose that it is now about to undertake, as I have made plain to the House on previous occasions. I therefore want to correct the impression that the hon. Gentleman gave.